keach: the elected nobles were often given important responsibilities. they would administer provincial capitals or garrison towns like malinalco. these new elite owed everything to the king, and so they proved reliable surrogates in remote places. elected nobles were also accepted into elite military orders like the eagle and jaguar knights. at malinalco, the eagles and jaguars had a shrine carved out of the rock face. like medieval knights, they were highly trained and experienced warriors who could change the tide of battle. the eagle knights were so important they had a large shrine right next to the templo mayor in tenochtitlan. when archaeologists uncovered the building, they found the entrance guarded by life-size statues of the warriors dressed in eagle costumes. there were two military orders beyond the eagle and jaguar knights, but these warriors were considered somewhat unstable, even by aztec standards. these warriors considered the odds of about 20 to 1 to be about right. so they went into battle first, they came out of battle last, they did